Professor Forest's queries about registration for Clinical Scientists
raise a number of issues.
1. There is no problem with a medic, MLSO, academic scientist or
other person with appropriate entry qualifications entering a
Clinical Scientist training programme, becoming qualified as a
Clinical Scientist, obtaining employment as a Clinical Scientist and
registering as such. Although the 3 professions have different
training programmes, where the person already has sufficient
training and appropriate experience then they could be registered
without undergoing the usual training programme, or gaining
additional experience. MLSOs have transferred to Clinical
Scientist posts, and been registered as such. No doubt some have made
the transition to medcial practitioner and become registered. They
would normally terminate their former registration
when they ceased to practice their original profession.
2. Persons qualified in two registrable professions, who practice
them both, could be simultaneously registered for both. E.g. a
qualified nurse who became a clinical scientist, and continued to
work as a bank nurse at weekends would need to maintain both
egistrations. It would be clear when the individual was practising
as a State Registered Nurse and when as a Registered Clinical
Scientist. He or she would have separate contracts of employment for
the different duties.
3. Suppose a medically qualfied pathologist, registered with the GMC,
decided that his (or her) duties included laboratory work which
qualified him to also register as a Clinical Scientist and an MLSO.
A patient who wishes to makes a complaint about his pefomance arising
out of that laboratory work would need either to complain to all
three registration boards, or be able to determine in which capacity
he was acting when the complaint arose. The patient probably would
not have been aware that the "doctor" was a registered member of
another profession. To which code of ethics should he have been
adhering at the time? Ultimately he might be struck off one
register, but be free to continue much of his work in another
capacity. If he was struck from the GMC register, could he continue
to practice his laboratory work as a Clinical Scientist, until
another complaint was made? I cannot see why there should be a need
for multiple registration in such circumstances. This would not seem
to serve the public interest, which, as Dr Worth pointed out, is the
purpose of statutory registration.
Mike Creasy
Clinical Cytogeneticist &
Member of the Registration Council for Scientists in Health Care
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